Syrians detain 2 Americans during demonstrations

WASHINGTON POST - Syrians detain 2 Americans during demonstrations

By DIAA HADID, Saturday, March 26, 11:28 PM

Eds: Adds comment from State Department spokesman. For global distribution.

CAIRO — Syrian authorities have detained two Americans amid an unprecedented wave of protests in the repressive Middle East nation, relatives and state media said Saturday.

Syria's state news agency Sana alleged that a man with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship had "confessed" to selling photos and videos of demonstrations to a Colombian woman. He was later identified by relatives as Mohammed Radwan, 32, of Austin Texas.

Syrian government television has been blaming foreigners, among others, for the unrest that began more than a week ago.

Radwan's cousin, Nora Shalaby, told The Associated Press that she last heard from him on Friday when he tweeted that he was at a mosque in Damascus where security forces were clashing with anti-government protesters.

Shalaby said her cousin was an engineer and had been working in Syria.

The state news agency said Radwan also confessed to visiting Israel. Syria is formally at war with the Jewish state, and visiting Israel is considered taboo. The accusation is sometimes used as a hint that they believe the person is a spy.

Meanwhile, a Vermont man said his 21-year-old son Pathik "Tik" Root — who had been missing since March 18 — has been found to be safe in Syrian custody.

Tom Root said his son, a Middlebury College student who had been studying Arabic in Damascus as part of a program through Damascus University — was detained during a demonstration in the capital.

Root said in a message posted Saturday on Middlebury's website that he believes his son was watching, and not participating, in the demonstration.

He said he had "great news" from Syria's ambassador to Washington, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and others that his son remains in Syrian custody and is safe.

"We very much appreciate the efforts of Ambassador Imad Moustapha and Senator Leahy in continuing to work to bring this complex situation to a resolution," Root wrote, adding, "please know how much we value everyone's good wishes and hopes."

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was aware of reports that two American citizens have been detained in Syria and said U.S. Embassy personnel are reaching out to Syrian authorities to obtain more information.

The Syrian Embassy in Washington was closed and officials couldn't be reached for comment.

___

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper contributed to this report from Washington.

Egypt's public prosecutor accuses top security officials of killing protesters

FORBES - Egypt's public prosecutor accuses top security officials of killing protesters

By DIAA HADID | Associated Press | Mar 23, 2011 2:52 PM CDT in World

Egypt's public prosecutor made an unprecedented sweep Wednesday against the top security brass, charging the former interior minister and other officials with aiding the murder and the attempted murder of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

The charges are the first move by Egypt's military-appointed provisional government to hold former officials accountable for the killings of some 300 demonstrators during mass protests that toppled Mubarak's regime on Feb. 11 after nearly 30 years of rule.

The charges are in stark contrast to the almost-total freedom that security forces had during Mubarak's reign, when thousands of Egyptians faced humiliations large and small _ from torture to paying out police to dodge falsified charges.

Top prosecutor Abdul-Magid Mahmoud said former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, who is in prison on other charges, and the heads of the state, public and central security agencies aided the killing of protesters during the uprising that began in January.

A series of officers and policemen in 11 other Egyptian provinces and cities, including the seaside metropolis of Alexandria, were also charged.

"They killed and wounded a number of citizens as they protested peacefully in these provinces," Mahmoud said in a statement released to official media.

The charges paves the way for a newer generation of midlevel security officials to assume the top positions.

A court date to hear the charges is expected to be set soon.

Also Wednesday, Egypt's military rulers endorsed a package of constitutional amendments that were adopted in a nationwide referendum, paving the way for parliamentary and presidential elections within months.

Critics fear the swift timetable could boost the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood and members of the former ruling party, but the amendments were overwhelmingly approved by Egyptian voters last week.

Wednesday's declaration by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces _ currently Egypt's top decision making body since Mubarak's ouster _ did not set an election date.

The military rulers have said before that they want to quickly hand over power to a civilian government.

The amendments eased conditions for independent candidates to run elections and limited presidents to two four-year terms. They also ensured fair and free elections

Protesters light Egypt's Interior Ministry building on fire

TORONTO STAR Protesters light Egypt's Interior Ministry building on fire

Diaa Hadid Associated Press

CAIRO—An Egyptian security official says police protesting in front of Egypt's Interior Ministry have set fire to part of the downtown complex.

TV footage shows flames licking up the building's top floors and a huge plume of black smoke filling the sky.

The official says protesters lit Tuesday's fire in the building housing in the ministry's personnel department. It then spread to an adjacent building.

The fire followed a protest by thousands of low-ranking police officers calling for better wages and working conditions.

Mass demonstrations that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11 have set off frequent protests by labourers seeking to improve their lot.

Also Tuesday, Egypt's public prosecutor indicted the former finance and information ministers in a criminal court on charges of wasting public funds, the official state news agency MENA reported.

The cases are among a number brought forward by prosecutors who have been investigating corruption charges made after an uprising that toppled Mubarak erupted on Jan. 25.

"The public prosecutor ordered the referral of former Information Minister Anas el-Fekky and former Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali to Cairo's criminal court on charges of deliberately wasting public funds," MENA said.

In February, Egyptian investigators ordered the detention of Fekky on suspicion of profiteering and wasting public funds. Fekky's detention would continue, MENA said on Tuesday.

Investigations showed Fekky demanded 36 million Egyptian pounds ($6 million) from the finance minister to cover media expenses for parliamentary elections as well as media campaigns to promote the political events and achievements made since Mubarak took office in 1981, MENA said.

Ghali reportedly accepted the requested sum, MENA said, citing a spokesman for the public prosecutor. Part of the amount was spent by Fekky in breach of the cabinet's operating standards, MENA said.

Hamas protests UN plans to teach Holocaust in Gaza

Denver Post - Hamas protests UN plans to teach Holocaust in Gaza

By DIAA HADID and IBRAHIM BARZAK Associated Press


GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—The United Nations has launched a new plan to teach the Holocaust in Gaza schools, drawing fierce condemnation from Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, school teachers—and even the body tasked with peace negotiations with Israel.

If implemented, it would be the first time most Palestinian children learn about Jewish suffering. But the outcry underscores how sensitive the issue is to Palestinians.

"Playing with the education of our children in the Gaza Strip is a red line," Hamas Education Minister, Mohammed Asqoul told a website of the group. He said Hamas will block attempts to teach the Holocaust "regardless of the price."

The uproar erupted after a U.N. official told a Jordanian daily in February that UNRWA, the main U.N. agency serving Palestinian refugees, would introduce a short case study about the Holocaust to Gaza students as part of its human rights curriculum.

"Instead of pre-emptive accusations, it is important for Palestinians ... to fully understand the tragedies and suffering that happened to all people through generations, without divvying up facts and taking things out of context," the official, Sami Mushasha, was quoted as saying.

UNRWA representatives refused to comment on the record, but one official said the agency was committed to introducing the curriculum for the next school year, beginning in September.

He added that officials were hesitating because they feared Hamas would incite loyalists to damage U.N. schools or harm their teachers if they introduce the materials. He requested anonymity because he was barred from discussing the matter with the media.

Hamas frequently accuses the U.N. of spreading immorality, and unknown assailants have attacked the agency's property in the past, including the torching of summer camps last year.

Since Hamas seized power of Gaza in 2007, it has viewed the U.N. as the main challenger to their influence in the coastal territory. Officials have tried to limit the international group's vast influence in Gaza, where it operates schools for some 200,000 children.

But the controversy over teaching the Holocaust in Gaza is more than a power struggle between the U.N. and Hamas, whose militant officials frequently deny the Nazi genocide of European Jewry ever occurred.

Many Palestinians are reluctant to acknowledge Jewish suffering, fearing it would diminish recognition of their own claims. Views range from outright denial to challenging the scope of the Holocaust.

Even Hamas' bitter enemy, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, reacted angrily to the U.N. plan. And the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the chief body tasked with negotiating peace with Israel, rejected the idea.

"Teaching the Holocaust to Palestinian students in U.N. schools is unacceptable," said Zakaria al-Agha, a member of the PLO's executive committee.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev called the Palestinian responses "obscene." Israelis consider the Holocaust a central event in modern Jewish history.

Some 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II, and the need to find a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors contributed to Israel's creation after World War II.

In a war that followed Israel's declaration of independence, more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes.

The Palestinians call this dispersal their "Nakba," or catastrophe, and many see the events linked. As such, recognizing the Holocaust is often seen as tantamount to acknowledging Jewish claims to the land.

Israeli officials have long said that Palestinian recognition of Jewish suffering is a necessary step toward peace. But for Gaza residents, empathy is particularly difficult: Most of the territory's 1.5 million residents live in poverty, facing Israeli restrictions in commerce and travel, and hundreds of civilians were killed in an Israeli military offensive against Hamas two years ago, aimed at stopping daily rocket attacks at Israel by Gaza militants.

Yet even if the U.N. moves ahead with the plan this year, it could face another obstacle: its own schoolteachers.

In about a dozen interviews, they said they did not want to teach the materials and warned of rebellion.

"The agency will open the gates of hell with this step," said one schoolteacher, Sami. "This will not work."

———

Hadid reported from Jerusalem.

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5 protesters killed in Syria, activist says; amateur video shows unrest around country

5 protesters killed in Syria, activist says; amateur video shows unrest around country

By Associated Press, Friday, March 18, 5:39 PM

BEIRUT — Syrian security forces launched a harsh crackdown Friday on protesters calling for political freedoms, killing at least five people and marking the gravest unrest in years in one of the most repressive states in the Mideast, according to accounts from activists and social media.

Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian activist in Damascus, said at least five people were shot and killed when security forces tried to disperse hundreds of protesters in the southern town of Daraa, near the Jordanian border. He cited eyewitnesses and hospital officials at the scene.

Friday's violence happened during one of several demonstrations across the country in Homs, Banyas and the capital, Damascus. But only the Daraa protest turned deadly, Darwish said.

Serious disturbances in Syria would be a major expansion of the wave of unrest tearing through the Arab world for more than a month in the wake of pro-democracy uprisings that overthrew the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. Syria, a predominantly Sunni country ruled by minority Alawites, has a history of brutally crushing dissent — including a notorious massacre in which President Hafez Assad crushed a Muslim fundamentalist uprising in the city of Hama in 1982, killing thousands.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned about the reported deaths in Daraa and said the use of lethal force against peaceful demonstrators was unacceptable.

"The Secretary-General believes that, as elsewhere, it is the responsibility of the government in Syria to listen to the legitimate aspirations of the people and address them through inclusive political dialogue and genuine reforms, not repression," said his spokesman, Martin Nesirky.

On Friday, Syrian forces used water cannons, batons and gunfire to beat up protesters in Daraa. The violence began when a large group of people emerged from the Al-Omari mosque, marching and shouting slogans against corruption and calling for more political freedoms.

A human rights activist told The Associated Press that security forces cordoned the main hospital in Daraa where some of the wounded were being treated, preventing families from visiting the victims. He cited hospital workers, but spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisals.

The government's TV channel and news agency said "infiltrators" in Daraa caused "chaos and riots" and smashed cars and public and private property before they attacked riot police. It said a similar demonstration in the coastal town of Banyas dispersed without incident.

Amateur video footage posted on YouTube and Twitter showed large groups of protesters in several cities, but the authenticity of the footage could not be independently confirmed.

A YouTube video claiming to be shot in Banyas showed several thousand demonstrators gathering around an old stone building with a Syrian flag fluttering from its roof. A cluster of men stood on its balcony with a loudspeaker. Amid chants of "Freedom!" and "There is only one God!," one man shouted out a list of protesters demands ranging from freedom of expression to allowing Muslim women with face veils to attend school.

In the capital, plainclothes security officers forcefully dispersed about a dozen protesters calling for more freedoms in the country, human rights activists said earlier in the day.

The activists said the protest occurred in the yard of Damascus' famous Ummayad Mosque shortly after Friday prayers. At least two protesters were detained, they said.

The protest was the third small rally broken up in Damascus this week.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, a 45-year-old British-trained eye doctor, inherited power from his father in 2000 after three decades of authoritarian rule. He has since moved slowly to lift Soviet-style economic restrictions, letting in foreign banks, throwing the doors open to imports and empowering the private sector.

The early years of his rule raised hopes of a freer society; salons where political and economic issues were openly debated sprang up across the country.

But the "Damascus Spring" as it came to be known was short-lived. In 2001, secret police began raiding the salons, jailing two lawmakers and scores of other activists in the years that followed.

In 2004, bloody clashes that began in the northeastern city of Qamishli between Syrian Kurds and security forces left at least 25 people dead and some 100 injured.

Although Assad keeps a tight lid on any form of political dissent, he is seen by many Arabs as one of the few leaders in the region willing to stand up to Israel.

Assad told The Wall Street Journal in February that Syria is insulated from the upheaval in the Arab world because he understands his people's needs and has united them in common cause against Israel.

Also Friday, eight Syrian human rights groups said a prosecutor had questioned and charged dozens of demonstrators with hurting the state's image.

The groups said the 32 activists denied the charges. They included four relatives of political prisoner Kamal Labawani, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence.

The activists were detained Wednesday when plainclothes security officers armed with batons dispersed a protest near the Interior Ministry demanding the release of political prisoners.

___

Karam reported from Cairo. Diaa Hadid in Cairo contributed to this report.

As Arab world's protests draw closer, Saudi monarch offers money and reforms to his kingdom

As Arab world's protests draw closer, Saudi monarch offers money and reforms to his kingdom

By DIAA HADID , Associated Press

Last update: March 18, 2011 - 8:28 A

CAIRO - Saudi Arabia's king promised a multibillion dollar package of reforms, raises, cash, loans and apartments on Friday in what appeared to be the Arab world's most expensive attempt to appease residents inspired by the unrest that has swept two leaders from power.

He also announced 60,000 new jobs in the security forces — a move that would employ huge numbers of otherwise jobless young men, while bolstering his kingdom's ability to snuff out protests.

The ailing 86-year-old King Abdullah, his soft voice trembling, rarely looked up from his notes in the speech broadcast live on Saudi television.

Though protests in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have been tiny and were swiftly quelled, the monarchy apparently fears they could escalate as have others around the Arab world — particularly in the neighboring island of Bahrain, where Saudi troops lead a 1,500-strong Gulf military force against Shiite demonstrators.

Saudi demonstrators have mostly come from the Shiite-dominated eastern quarter of the kingdom. They share similar grievances as their Shiite brethren in the nearby island monarchy, and the Sunni powers fear their unrest will give an opening for Shiite Iran to expand its influence on the Arab side of the Gulf.

But the changes announced by Abdullah did not loosen the tribal monarchy's tight hold on power — a key demand of Saudi opposition figures. The gesture also overlooked requests by intellectuals to release political prisoners and reform the country's decision-making process.

Abdullah thanked residents and security forces and asked them to remember him in their prayers.

"You are the shields of this homeland and the beating hand of those who dare challenge its security and stability. May God bless you and your actions," the king said in the three-minute speech.

King Abdullah is popular, though critics protest the closed, autocratic system he heads.

News readers — not the king — read the series of royal decrees promising a minimum wage increase, cash gifts and an anti-corruption drive. No total cost was given for the package.

The sweeteners include an additional two months' wages for all government workers and two extra payments for university students worth around $500. He raised the monthly minimum wage to $800 and announced a monthly payment of around $260 to the country's unemployed. The king set aside around $70 billion to build 500,000 apartments for low-income residents. He promised millions more capital for the government's housing loan fund and raised the maximum loan for homes to around $130,000.

The king vowed to fight corruption with the creation of a new body answerable directly to him. He promised billions for the health sector — announcing new research centers around the country, homes for medics and thousands of new hospital beds. He also promised an extra $40 million for private hospitals.

In a boon to the country's conservatives, he vowed around $130 million to build and renovate mosques and around $50 million each for Islamic centers that teach the Muslim holy book and to build offices for the country's religious police.

Starkly absent from the promises were any funds for the country's education system. The King vowed to pressure private businesses to employ more Saudi residents and said he would crack down on merchants who raised the prices of basic goods.

The new swath of promises were the second series of sweeteners offered to Saudi residents. Earlier this month, the King ordered roughly $37 billion to be pumped into various programs targeting the oil kingdom's lower income population.

And the oil-rich country also promised to fund part of a $20 billion in financial aid package earlier this month to the Gulf states of Bahrain and Oman in attempts there to quell demonstrations in both countries with promises of more cash.

It remains to be seen if the sweeteners will placate residents weary of the tribal monarchy's tight grip on power.

Gadhafi tells rebels ‘surrender or flee’ as his forces gain in east and west Libya

WASHINGTON POST - Gadhafi tells rebels 'surrender or flee' as his forces gain in east and west Libya

 

By DIAA HADID and RYAN LUCAS, Tuesday, March 15, 12:04 PM

 

TOBRUK, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi's forces struck the rebellion's heartland with airstrikes, missiles and artillery on Tuesday, trying for the first time to take back a city that serves as a crucial gateway for the band of fighters who threatened his four-decade hold on power. Rebels rushed to the front and sent up two rickety airplanes to bomb government ships, as mosques broadcast pleas for help defending the city.

 

The pro-Gadhafi forces surprised rebels with attacks on two sides of the city of Ajdabiya, and the opposition was outgunned.

 

"They don't have the arms, but they have the will to fight," Lt. Col. Mohammed Saber, an army officer who defected to the uprising, said by telephone as explosions and gunfire rattled in the background.

 

The assault on Ajdabiya in the east came after Gadhafi forces took back the last rebel town west of Tripoli. With the victory in Zwara, a seaside town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Tunisian border, the regime has largely consolidated control in the west, where only weeks earlier his rule seemed to be crumbling. The only other opposition-held city in the western half was under a punishing blockade, its population running out of supplies.

 

The dramatic turn in Gadhafi's fortunes has outpaced French and British efforts to build support for a no-fly zone, which fell apart on Tuesday in the face of German opposition and U.S. reluctance.

 

An activist who confirmed the use of the warplanes against government ships warned rebels would now use them to bomb "oil wells and oil sites."

 

The activist, who asked not to be named, said rebels procured a handful of "very old" warplanes weeks ago but did not want to use them, believing that Western powers, with Arab diplomatic support, would imopse a no-fly zone over Libya.

 

"We did not want to commit any violations. And we did not want to exacerbate the situation," she said.

 

Gadhafi said he expects victory, telling the Italian newspaper Il Giornale that the rebels' options are closing. "There are only two possibilities: Surrender or run away."

 

He said he was not like the Tunisian or Egyptian leaders, who fell after anti-government protests. "I'm very different from them," he said. "People are on my side and give me strength."

 

Ajdabiya leads to the eastern half of the country, which the opposition has held since the uprising began on Feb. 15. If Gadhafi's troops are able to capture the city of 140,000, the way would be open from them to assault Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and effectively the opposition's capital, 140 miles (200 kilometers) away from Ajdabiya.

 

Ajdabiya is also a key supply point for the rebels, with ammunition and weapons depots that they used in their previous advance west toward Tripoli — now turned into a retreat. Until now, the Gadhafi forces' offensive toward the east has battled over two oil ports on the Mediterranean Sea, and Ajdabiya is the first heavily populated city in the area they have tried to retake.

 

Gadhafi's forces reached the outskirts of Ajdabiya on Tuesday afternoon, pounding the city entrance with long-range missiles, tank fire and airstrikes. Rebels in the city had heavily fortified the city's western entrance, expecting an attack from that direction — but they were surprised to find troops also attacking a southern entrance at the same time. Mosques broadcast calls on residents to go out to help defend the city amid chants of "Allahu akbar" or "God is great" from minarets.

 

Rebel spokesman Ahmed al-Zwei, among a group of fighters at Ajdabiya's western gate, said his comrades were hoping to try stall the government advance: "God willing, no, no, no, they will not reach Ajdabiya. God willing we can push them back." Later, with the sounds of gunfire behind him, he said missiles were coming in from the sea and bombs were coming from warplanes above.

 

"Just now they hit a group of fighters. They are dead, wounded," he said in a harried phone call interrupted by shouting orders. He claimed Gadhafi's forces hadn't yet entered the city. Residents were fleeing to nearby villages.

 

"This isn't one or two planes. They are like a flock!" said a local activist, sounding panicked as explosions rang in the background.

 

Airstrikes blasted the highways leading east and west out of the city, trying to isolate the rebels and cut off supplies. One bomb destroyed a rebel camp, the activist said.

 

Libyan state television claimed the battle was already won. The report said Gadhafi's troops were "completely in control of Ajdabiya and are cleansing it from armed gangs."

 

In Tripoli, hundreds of Gadhafi supporters celebrated in central Green Sqaure, blaring revolutionary songs, waving green flags and shooting in the air.

 

At the same time, Gadhafi forces were blockading Misrata, Libya's third largest city and the last major rebel holding in the western half of the country.

 

"We are short on antibiotics and surgery supplies and disposable equipment," said a doctor in the city. "We feel so, so, isolated here. We are pleading with the international community to help us in this very difficult time."

 

The doctor said naval ships in the Mediterranean port were blocking aid ships. Another resident said townspeople were relying on poor quality home-dug wells normally used to irrigate their gardens. He said in many parts of town, the water network was cut, and tankers that traditionally supply rooftop tanks weren't able to enter Misrata, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

 

In Paris, efforts for a no-fly zone stalled and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe suggested in a radio interview that events on the ground in Libya have already outpaced diplomatic efforts. A final communique after a two-day meeting in Paris of G-8 foreign ministers warned of "dire consequences" if Gadhafi did not honor the Libyan people's claim to basic rights, freedom of expression, and representative government, but top diplomats from some of the world's biggest powers deferred to the U.N. Security Council to take action.

 

"If we had used military force last week to neutralize some airstrips and the several dozen planes that they have, perhaps the reversal taking place to the detriment of the opposition wouldn't have happened," Juppe told Europe-1 radio. "But that's the past."

 

The Obama administration on Monday held its first high-level talks with the Libyan opposition and introduced a liaison to deal full time with their ranks. It remained undecided about exactly how much support to lend a group it still knows little about while turmoil and uncertainty increase across the Arab world.

 

The rebel's main stronghold, Benghazi, remained firmly in their hands on Tuesday. A Tuareg lieutenant from Mali who has fought for the Libyan government since 1993 said the government wants to retake Benghazi, but doesn't want to attack the city itself. He says the government will try to convince the residents of Benghazi to force militants out.

 

"Everyone in Benghazi is still watching Libyan state television so the government will try to get its message across like this," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisal. "The idea is to surround Benghazi but to leave one exit open for the rebels. If we can get the rebels to leave the city then we will move troops in between them and the city and fight them in the open desert."

 

___

 

Hadid reported from Cairo. Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tripoli and Martin Vogl in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.

Gadhafi forces strike rebels in east, west Libya

Pro-Gadhafi fighters raise their fists to indicate victory as they are pictured during a government-organized visit for foreign media near Ras Lanouf, 380 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tripoli, in Libya Saturday, March 12, 2011. The world moved a step closer to a decision on imposing a no-fly zone over Libya but Moammar Gadhafi was swiftly advancing Saturday on the poorly equipped and loosely organized rebels who have seized much of the country. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) (Ben Curtis - AP)

 

Gadhafi forces strike rebels in east, west Libya

 

By RYAN LUCAS and DIAA HADID

The Associated Press

Monday, March 14, 2011; 11:36 AM

 

TOBRUK, Libya -- Moammar Gadhafi's forces attacked a town west of Tripoli with tanks and artillery on Monday, expanding a campaign to clear rebels from Libya's western front around the capital. In the east, the government's offensive was slowed by opposition forces digging in at a key oil port.

 

The regime's campaign in the west appeared to be hitting problems. Government shelling of the opposition-held city of Misrata that lasted until Monday morning stopped during the day. Rebels on Monday reported that fighting had erupted among pro-Gadhafi troops surrounding the city, apparently after some in their ranks had refused to attack.

 

Abdel-Fattah Ahmed, an opposition official in Misrata, said he had information - apparently from rebel fighters close to the pro-Gadhafi positions - that some of the government troops had "run off into the brush. No one has heard from them - we dont know if they are alive or have been killed." But other residents in the city said it was still unclear if there had been a munity on the Gadhafi side.

 

Libya's upheaval has turned into a two-front conflict along the country's Mediterranean coast, where the majority of the population lives. Gadhafi appears to have somewhat of an upper hand. But his forces don't seem strong enough to overwhelm the rebels - setting the stage for a longer, grinding conflict as the West debates whether to intervene, mulling the imposition of a no-fly zone that the rebels have been pleading for.

 

In the east, Gadhafi forces have launched an offensive trying to push back the long stretch of territory controlled by rebels - nearly the entire eastern half of the country.

 

There government troops have scored victories using overpowering bombardments with artillery, tanks, warplanes and warships. Such an assault drove rebel fighters out of the oil port of Ras Lanouf several days ago, and another such bombardment rained down on Sunday on rebels holding the next oil facility to the east, Brega.

 

But the regime offensive appears to be hampered by a lack of manpower: They can drive out rebels with barrages, but not necessarily hold the territory. After fleeing the bombardment Sunday, the rebels then pushed back into Brega in the evening and claimed to have captured dozens of fighters from Gadhafi's elite Khamis Brigade.

 

On Monday, about 2,000 rebel fighters - mainly members of a special commando unit that defected to the opposition - held Brega's residential district, while pro-Gadhafi troops controlled the industrial oil facilities some distance away, said rebel spokesman Abdul-Bari Zwei. Rebel fighters were searching the residential area for any remaining Gadhafi troops.

 

The rebel weakness, however, is in its supply lines: To get ammunition, reinforcements and arms to the front, it must drive along open desert highways, exposed to government airstrikes. Gadhafi warplanes struck at least three targets Monday morning in the city of Ajdabiya, west of Brega, missing a weapons storage site but hitting rebel fighters at a checkpoint in an attempt to stop supplies, rebels said.

 

Libyan state TV showed some images Monday from Brega port, claiming that it was in government control and at peace. The announcer urged Russia, China and India to invest in Libya's oil sector.

 

For the past week, the two sides have been battling for control over the two oil ports Brega and Ras Lanouf. But even if government troops take Brega as well, they may face even tougher resistance if they try to move further east, on the heavily populated cities that the opposition holds. The first of those cities is Ajdabiya, 480 miles (800 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

 

Western Libya remains Gadhafi's stronghold, centered on Tripoli where his militiamen have crushed any attempts at an uprising. But since early on in the revolt, which began Feb. 15, several cities in the west fell into rebel hands. Regime forces on Friday took back the most crucial of those cities, Zawiya, which lies on the capital's doorstep, after a reportedly bloody and destructive week-long siege.

 

On Monday, pro-Gadhafi forces launched an attempt to take another, nearby town, Zwara, 70 miles (110 kilometers) west of Tripoli, close to the Tunisian border.

 

Government troops surrounded the town of 45,000 and bombarded it with tanks and artillery for hours starting in the morning, several residents said. At least four rebel fighters were killed in the barrage, said one resident, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution against him. The sound of gunfire could be heard over the telephone as he spoke.

 

One fighter, Shukri Nael, said he was among rebels who fended off an assault at a rebel checkpoint at one of the entrances to the city.

 

"I don't care how far the Gadhafi forces went East or how many cities they take back - this is a chance for me to die for this country and become a martyr," he said.

 

On Sunday, regime forces began shelling the most significant rebel-held city in the west - Misrata, Libya's third largest city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.

 

Troops on the city's outskirts and on ships off shore had sealed the city, cutting off water pipes to many of its neighborhoods and preventing water tankers from reaching the residents, said a local doctor and other residents. Residents were conserving existing water and food supplies, he said.

 

Opposition fighters were building sandbag fortifications and other defenses in anticipation that Gadhafi troops, positioned at an air base and military college about six miles (10 kilometers) from the city could launch an assault.

 

On Monday morning, a barrage of shelling slammed into houses on the edge of the city, said one resident. But by the afternoon the guns fell silent.

 

"There are divisions inside the (pro-Gadhafi) militia," said one rebel fighter, citing reports from fellow fighters closest to the government troops. "Some of the forces don't want to enter the town and attack civilians. Others want to attack the city, Others want to join the rebels. Those wanting to attack the town are attacking the refuseniks."

 

The report of divisions could not be independently confirmed.

 

The opposition has been pleading with the West to impose a no-fly zone to help balance the scales with Gadhafi's forces. But for weeks, Western nations have been divided and hesitant on the move.

 

France and Britain were making an accelerated push Monday for a no-fly zone as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats from the G-8 group of prominent world economies were gathering in Paris for a previously planned foreign ministers meeting.

 

France, which has angered some allies by offering diplomatic recognition to Libya's opposition, said it is urgent to act against "barbarity" by Gadhafi's forces.

 

In Britain, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Libyans will face a "nightmare" if Gadhafi regains control, insisting that the world is "reaching a point of decision" on whether foreign forces will impose a no-fly zone.

 

The Arab League has backed a no-fly zone, and Hague told BBC Radio Monday that "in cases of great, overwhelming humanitarian need" one could be enforced without a U.N. Security Council resolution.

 

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero, speaking to The Associated Press, pointed to an "urgency" to act because violence against civilians was increasing in Libya. He said France was also working on a list of sanctions against Gadhafi's regime at the U.N. Security Council.

 

Other countries, including the United States, have been more cautious.

 

Hague, who is due to attend the foreign ministers meeting, also said he "wouldn't exclude" amending a ban on arms exports to Libya so that weapons could be shipped to the rebels - but that talks with allies on that are needed.

 

---

 

Hadid reported from Cairo. Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tripoli contributed to this report.

Gadhafi’s forces drive rebels from key oil town, close in on opposition-held east

WASHINGTON POST - By PAUL SCHEMM and ZEINA KARAM, Sunday, March 13, 8:50 AM

BENGHAZI, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi's forces swept rebels from a key oil town Sunday with waves of strikes from warships, tanks and warplanes, closing on the opposition-held eastern half of Libya as insurgents pleaded for a U.N.-imposed no-fly zone.

Gadhafi's troops have been emboldened by a string of victories in the struggle for Libya's main coastal highway but their supply lines are stretched and their dependence on artillery, airstrikes and naval attacks makes it hard for them to swiftly consolidate control of territory, particularly at night.

The insurgents claimed they moved back into the strategic town of Brega after dusk in a fast-moving battle with a constantly shifting front line, destroying armored vehicles and capturing dozens of fighters from Gadhafi's elite Khamis Brigade.

The United States sent U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton to meet with rebel leaders in Paris on Monday as world powers consider trying to ground Gadhafi's air force.

The Obama administration and other governments have expressed deep reservations about a tactic that would require them to destroy Gadhafi's air defenses and possibly shoot down his planes. The Arab League raised the pressure on the U.S. and its NATO allies on Saturday by asking the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone, but a day later they appeared no closer to taking action.

"This was a rare decision of the Arab League," rebel spokesman Abdul Basit al-Muzayrik told Al-Jazeera. "We call on the international community to quickly make a firm decision against these crimes."

The poorly equipped and loosely organized rebel fighters said throughout the day they were fleeing the oil town of Brega under heavy attack, losing a vital source of fuel for their vehicles and leaving Gadhafi's military less than 150 miles from the main opposition city of Benghazi.

A spokesman for Gadhafi's military declared it had seized control of the town and was "dealing with the situation."

It was impossible to independently confirm either side's account because it has become too dangerous for reporters to operate in the contested area.

Ajdabiya is the only other major population center between Gadhafi's forces and the rebel headquarters. If his successes continue, the Libyan strongman will soon face the choice of consolidating his control of the Mediterranean coast or moving swiftly toward Benghazi and the prospect of a devastating battle.

"Benghazi doesn't deserve a full-scale military action," army spokesman Milad Hussein told reporters in the capital, Tripoli. "They are a group of rats and vermin and as soon as we go in, they will raise their hands and surrender."

Gadhafi's navy, army and air force began pounding Brega with artillery, rockets and bombs Sunday morning and didn't let up all day, forcing doctors and wounded people from the town's hospital with a missile strike, several rebels told The Associated Press after fleeing.

"There wasn't any time to breathe, to do anything," one fighter with responsibility for logistics said by telephone as he fled Brega for Ajdabiya, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) by road to the east. Explosions went off in the background.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, he said the opposition was bracing for conflict in Ajdabiya by evacuating doctors and the wounded from there, too.

He said some rebels had gathered in a seaside village a few miles east of Brega, hoping to halt Gadhafi's forces. He said more fighters from rebel strongholds in the east were heading to Ajdabiya to prepare for a battle there.

The rebels were trying to secure the southern and eastern roads to Ajdabiya and storing provisions and weapons there after the loss of free access to gasoline in Brega.

"I think they are bombing heavily because they want to win time before a no-fly zone is imposed," the rebel shouted over the phone.

An opposition leader in Ajdabiya said the rebels planned to retake Brega and were attacking Gadhafi's forces with guns and roadside bombs as they moved in reinforcements from government-held cities in the west.

Another rebel said that after their initial defeat, opposition forces destroyed armored vehicles and captured dozens of fighters from Gadhafi's elite Khamis Brigade, driving others back into Brega's airport.

A fourth opposition fighter told The Associated Press by telephone that celebrations had broken out in the nearby city of Ajdabiya, and celebratory gunfire, honking and shouting could be heard in the background.

"We are on our way to Brega to celebrate with our brothers there," he said.

However, about an hour later he said Gadhafi's forces had pushed the rebels back to a town called al-Ojela, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of Brega.

The rebels fighting to oust Gadhafi from power after more than 41 years were inspired by protesters who toppled authoritarian rulers in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. A week ago they held the entire eastern half of the country and were charging toward the capital, Tripoli.

Then Gadhafi's troops began reversing those early gains with superior weaponry and firepower from the air.

With much of the fighting in the east taking place along the coastal highway bounded by strips of desert, there are few places for the rebels to take cover, forcing them to withdraw under fire before attempting to surge back.

On Sunday, Gadhafi's forces also appeared to edge closer to Misrata, battling rebel fighters on the outskirts of Libya's third-largest city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, residents reported.

One resident, who did not want his name used because he fears for his safety, said streets inside the city were empty as people took cover in their homes and the noise of tanks, anti-aircraft fire and machine guns grew ever nearer.

He said several tank shells had struck inside the city, hitting a mosque and an apartment building.

___

Karam reported from Cairo. Hadeel al-Shalchi in Tripoli and Diaa Hadid in Cairo contributed to this report.

--
Diaa Hadid
Correspondent
The Associated Press
dhadid@ap.org
diaa_hadid2@yahoo.co.uk
Please send releases to both addresses

UN suspects Israel in kidnapping of Palestinian

FORBES - UN suspects Israel in kidnapping of Palestinian

(AP) – 16 hours ago

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Palestinian engineer vanished from a Ukrainian train in the middle of the night.

Now, the United Nations refugee agency confirms his wife's fears that he is being held in prison by the Israeli secret service, most likely after being kidnapped nearly three weeks ago.

Dirar Abu Sisi, 42, went missing "under unknown circumstances" in the early hours of Feb. 19 after boarding a train in the eastern city of Kharkiv bound for the capital Kiev, according to Viktoria Kushnir, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry. He was in Ukraine applying for citizenship.

Maksim Butkevych, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine, said Abu Sisi has been in custody in Israel since shortly after his disappearance. The U.N. agency suspects Israeli and perhaps Ukrainian security forces had a hand in his disappearance and imprisonment in Israel.

"We don't know details of his trip from Ukraine to Israel — let's put it this way," said Butkevych. "But unfortunately, what happened looks like a violent abduction and not a legal extradition or any other legal action on the part of authorities."

Both the Israeli and Ukrainian Foreign Ministries declined to comment on the U.N. allegations.

Abu Sisi's Ukrainian wife, Veronika, 32, alleges the Israeli secret service Mossad carried out the abduction in order to sabotage a key electric power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip where he worked as a senior manager.

"I don't suspect it, I am sure of it," Abu Sisi told the AP in a telephone interview. "My husband was the heart of the only electric station in Gaza, or rather its brain. It's a strategic object and they wanted to disable it."

She denied speculation that her husband may be wanted by Israel as a known Hamas sympathizer, saying he had never engaged in politics or any violent groups.

In Gaza, fellow engineers and neighbors described Abu Sisi as a Hamas supporter, pointing to his senior position. He served as the deputy head of the electric power station and posts are traditionally staffed by Hamas loyalists.

Abu Sisi, a Jordan native and father of six, was in Ukraine trying to apply for citizenship after spending 12 years in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli group HaMoked, which defends the rights of Palestinians, says Abu Sisi has been held in an Israeli prison since Feb 19. He is being kept in the Shikma detention center outside the coastal city of Ashkelon, the group said.

Israel's prison service said it had no information on the case. The internal security service, the Shin Bet, declined comment, citing a gag order.

Veronika Abu Sisi said her husband told her over the phone about a week after his alleged kidnapping that he was in Israel. His lawyer later told her that he was in custody in an Israeli prison and that he had been kidnapped from Ukraine. Reached by the Associated Press, the lawyer declined comment, citing the gag order.

Veronika Abu Sisi said the family decided to return to Ukraine after life in the Gaza Strip became unsafe for their three daughters and three sons and her husband flew to Ukraine to apply for citizenship in January.

In mid-February, after submitting all the paperwork, he was told by Ukrainian authorities to report to a government agency in Kharkiv, which was processing his case. After he turned up, government workers briefly seized his passport, then gave it back to him, saying it was a routine check, Abu Sisi said.

Relieved, the engineer on Feb. 18 boarded a 10:55 p.m. overnight train to Kiev to meet his brother who was flying in from Amsterdam, but the reunion never took place.

Veronika Abu Sisi said she was told by Ukrainian police officials that two unknown men boarded her husband's train car near the central Ukrainian city of Poltava several hours after departure and escorted him out.

"I am in shock," said Abu Sisi, a violin teacher, who converted to Islam to marry her husband, who had come to Ukraine to study as part of an exchange program. "I don't know what to tell my kids about where their father is — he wasn't killed by a bomb, he disappeared from a train in a democratic country!"

Hamas police arrest spiritual head of extremist Islamic group in Gaza

Winnipeg Free Press - Hamas police arrest spiritual head of extremist Islamic group in Gaza

By: Ibrahim Barzak, The Associated Press

The Gaza Strip's Hamas government announced Sunday that it has arrested the spiritual leader of an extremist Islamic group after a two-year search.

It was one of the most high-profile arrests against a series of shadowy groups that have tried to challenge Hamas rule in Gaza in recent years. These groups, known as Salafis, draw inspiration from the al-Qaida terror network and believe the Iranian-backed Hamas is too moderate.

Hamas said Sheikh Abu Walid-al-Maqdasi, the leader of the group "Monotheism and Holy War," was arrested in a crowded beachside neighbourhood of Gaza City last week.

Al-Maqdasi's group shares the same name as an al-Qaida inspired group suspected in hotel bombings in Egypt's Sinai desert between 2004 and 2005 that killed more than 120 people. It's not clear if it's the same group.

In Gaza, al-Maqdasi's group says Hamas, a fundamentalist group that has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks, should do more to battle Israel. It also says Hamas must impose an even more extreme version of Muslim law in Gaza.

His group has also claimed responsibility for firing rockets at Israel in defiance of an unwritten truce between the Jewish state and Gaza's Hamas rulers. It is believed to have attracted former Hamas loyalists disenchanted with the militant group's enforcement of a two-year-old cease-fire.

Hamas has been especially wary of their hardline challengers, particularly since the spiritual mentor of another shadowy group defied Hamas and announced a separate Islamic state in southern Gaza in 2009. That prompted a gun battle with Hamas police that killed more than 20 people.

Hamas spokesman Salah Bardawil says al-Maqdasi spread incitement against Hamas and tried to attract youths to his organization.

Al-Maqdasi, who is Palestinian, sneaked into Gaza in 2006, with his wife and seven children, Hamas officials said. He is believed to be about 50, and he also is known as Hisham al-Suaydani. Hamas has been trying to track him down for two years.

Israeli-Arab leaders under fire for Libya visit

WASHINGTON POST - Israeli-Arab leaders under fire for Libya visit

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press

 

Associated Press March 4, 2011 12:46 AM

Friday, March 4, 2011

 

JERUSALEM, Israel (AP) -- Israeli-Arab leaders are on the defensive over a much-publicized visit to Libya last year, where they fawned over Moammar Gadhafi and posed for a series of photographs beaming alongside the longtime ruler.

 

Known as loud critics of Israel's treatment of its Arab minority, they are now facing uncomfortable questions about their long history of cozying up to some of the Middle East's most authoritarian leaders.

 

"I cannot stop myself from feeling shame that assaults me every time I see my photographs with him," Hanin Zoabi, an Arab Israeli lawmaker who met Gadhafi, wrote in a local website.

 

Zoabi, like other members of the delegation, refused to apologize for last April's visit, saying it was necessary for Israeli Arabs to reach out to Mideast leaders and naive and impossible to ignore them.

 

The uproar has drawn attention to the state of Israel's Arabs, who account for about a fifth of the country's population of 7.6 million.

 

While Israeli Arabs are citizens with full voting rights, in contrast to their Palestinian brethren in the neighboring West Bank and Gaza Strip, they frequently suffer discrimination — in employment, education, municipal budgets and land allocation.

 

Many of Israel's Arabs openly identify with the Arab world, with lawmakers and civic figures frequently traveling to meet leaders in Arab nations hostile to the Jewish state.

 

In one extreme case, former lawmaker Azmi Bishara came under heavy criticism for visiting Syria and meeting President Bashar Assad and officials from the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. Assad is a bitter foe of Israel, who provides aid to Hezbollah and the Hamas militant group.

 

Bishara later fled the country after he was accused of spying for Hezbollah, which battled Israel to a stalemate in a month-long war in 2006. Living in exile, Bishara is now a popular pundit on Arabic language channel Al-Jazeera, where he urges Arab demonstrators to overthrow their regimes.

 

Among Arabs here, Bishara is still widely seen as a hero for confronting Israel. But the new photos of other Arab leaders — including religious officials and lawmakers — praising Gadhafi seem to be too much for their public to bear.

 

The photographs show delegation members posing beside Gadhafi, who wears black sunglasses, a turban, shiny brown pants and a shirt concealed by a darker brown wrap. The photographs, published on different Arab-Israeli websites, suggest some representatives took turns standing next to the Libyan leader.

 

Ahmed Tibi, a prominent Arab lawmaker, called Gadhafi "the leader of the Arab leaders, king of the Arab kings," according to an official transcript published on a Libyan government news website.

 

Tibi told The Associated Press his comments were taken out of context and the majority of his speech was devoted to criticizing the lack of educational and social progress in the Arab world — positions that have won praise in the mainstream Israeli media. Still, he didn't take Gadhafi to task. Tibi sent a copy of his speech to the AP.

 

As Gadhafi's forces continue a crackdown that has reportedly included firing on protesters and launching airstrikes on rebel positions, such revelations have sparked soul-searching in the Arab community. Some constituents accuse their leaders of hypocrisy that is harming their cause.

 

"If you hug dictators who oppress and kill their people — what's your moral position then?" asked poet Salman Masalha, who criticized the visits in a series of editorials.

 

Mohammed Zeidan, another delegation member, said many felt uncomfortable even at the time.

 

Minders prohibited them from leaving their hotels, telling them the visit — organized by Libya's ambassador to Jordan — was just to meet Gadhafi. They were instructed to call him "the brother, the leader."

 

They were flown out to the Libyan desert, then bused to a giant tent where they met Gadhafi. After fawning speeches by some delegation members — including radical Muslim leader Sheik Raed Salah — Gadhafi rambled for 40 minutes, Zedian said.

 

"He talked about Israel's nuclear power, but he said, 'You can challenge this by marrying two, three and four wives and having lots of children.' He said we could be a demographic challenge to their nuclear weapons," Zeidan laughed.

 

Some delegation members said they felt squeamish after the visit. Nonetheless, they said it important outreach to promote their plight.

 

"People tell us we should reach out to the people — not to the regimes," Zoabi wrote in a recent editorial. "Should we wait for democratic regimes to reach out and answer our call for opening relations with the Arab world?"

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/03/03/international/i224341S91.DTL#ixzz1FiJbRs5F

 

--

Diaa Hadid

Correspondent

The Associated Press

dhadid@ap.org

diaa_hadid2@yahoo.co.uk

Please send releases to both addresses

 

Palestinians try to create 'Facebook revolution'

The Seattle Times - Palestinians try to create 'Facebook revolution'
March 1, 2011
The mass demonstrations sweeping the Middle East are touching the Palestinian territories, where West Bank and Gaza Strip activists are trying to organize their own "Facebook revolutions."

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH and IBRAHIM BARZAK

Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip —The mass demonstrations sweeping the Middle East are touching the Palestinian territories, where West Bank and Gaza Strip activists are trying to organize their own "Facebook revolutions."

The Palestinian activists are inspired by the calls for democracy that toppled autocratic leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and threaten longtime rulers in Libya and Bahrain.

In recent weeks, activists using Facebook have brought hundreds of people onto streets of the West Bank, waving Palestinian flags and calling for change. Smaller gatherings have taken place in Gaza. The protesters hope to stage a massive demonstration in both areas on March 15.Whether they can succeed is far from certain because of the unique situation of the Palestinians. In contrast to countries where crowds have rallied against a single, despised leader, the Palestinians face a series of intertwined problems, making it harder to rally around a common cause.

Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, areas wedged on different sides of Israel and ruled by rival governments. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority governs in the West Bank, where Israel's military still retains overall control. The militant Islamic group Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007.

The Palestinian split has crippled efforts to negotiate an independent state from Israel. Repeated efforts to reconcile, including a Palestinian Authority proposal to hold new elections, have foundered.

The Facebook activists have divisions of their own. Some want the rival Palestinian governments to reconcile. Others demand they resign. Still others want to demonstrate against Israel's occupation.

Activist Hasan Farahat, 22, said there was enough common ground. "Everybody is sick of the situation. We want work, we want the right to speak freely. We want freedom," he said.

The governments see even the smallest demonstrations as a challenge to their rule.

On Monday, Hamas moved swiftly to break up a small demonstration in Gaza City where people called for Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas police arrested a protest organizer, seizing a tape from a German TV crew showing a security official slapping the man.

In previous protest attempts, Hamas security arrested activists and seized their phones and computers, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

The West Bank has seen about a dozen demonstrations, including two in Ramallah, where some 2,000 Palestinians demanded reconciliation. Others urged leaders to revoke interim peace agreements with Israel.

Palestinian Authority security forces initially broke up protests by beating participants. Now, organizers are threatened and sometimes arrested, they said.

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Daraghmeh and Associated Press writer Diaa Hadid reported from Ramallah.